Take Action — On Coal Riverhttps://oncoalriver.wordpress.com
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 06:23:00 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/db3ff46a80a9f59540329c73cd9f69c5?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.pngTake Action — On Coal Riverhttps://oncoalriver.wordpress.com
Call today! WV ban on Slurry injection under threathttps://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/call-today-wv-ban-on-slurry-injection-under-threat/
https://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/call-today-wv-ban-on-slurry-injection-under-threat/#respondTue, 22 Feb 2011 15:33:37 +0000http://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/?p=236Yesterday at the House Judiciary Committee after nearly 2 hours of debate, legislators gutted a bill that would have banned the practice of underground coal slurry injection. Although there has been a temporary ban on the practice for two years, 13 operations are exempted from the moratorium, and a complete permanent ban is badly needed.

Despite testimony from a retired prep plant worker explaining that viable alternatives exists and from a WVU medical doctor discussing the serious health impacts on communities from injections, the legislators removed the ban on coal slurry injection and left only a tax credit for the industry.

The ban language can still be restored in the House Finance Committee and the Senate bill remains intact.Call members of the WV house finance committee starting with chairman Harry Keith White: (304) 340-3230. Also Nancy Guthrie, Virginia Mahan, John Doyle, Tim Manchin, Don Perdue

]]>https://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/call-today-wv-ban-on-slurry-injection-under-threat/feed/0oncoalriverON COAL RIVER Nominated for IFP/Gotham Awardhttps://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/on-coal-river-nominated-for-ifpgotham-award/
https://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/on-coal-river-nominated-for-ifpgotham-award/#respondTue, 19 Oct 2010 01:58:00 +0000http://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/?p=230Yeeehaw! The Category is “Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You,” and it’s open to any fiction or documentary film that doesn’t have distribution yet.

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https://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/223/#respondThu, 23 Sep 2010 13:04:40 +0000http://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/?p=223Since we met her in 2004, Judy Bonds has been talking about the need for a TV ad about mountaintop removal to expose what she calls “America’s dirty little secret.” Now, in time for Appalachia Rising, there is one.

Over the years, citizens have brought the truth about mountaintop removal to the offices of hundreds of decision makers across Washington DC, but this week, we’re taking the tragedy of mountaintop removal to a place they never expected: into their living rooms.

Last May, we launched exciting new project to show America the true cost of their electricity by teaming up with Ashley Judd to create a television commercial that uses the most talked about ad in America’s history – President Johnson’s “Daisy Girl” – to convey the severity of mountaintop removal.

After a summer of fundraising, and generous donations from supporters across the United States, the ad will show on local network and cable television stations across the Washington, D.C. area September 22-29th. This ad couldn’t come at a better time, as hundreds of people are getting ready to gather at Appalachia Rising and Voices From the Mountains in Washington, D.C. Sept 25-28, 2010 to urge an end to mountaintop removal coal mining and a renewed vision for the future of Appalachia.

We don’t have the coal industry’s billions. But we do have the power of people like you who are determined to end mountaintop removal coal mining. Can we bring it even further? Please, make a contribution today, and share the ad with your family and friends.

]]>https://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/223/feed/0oncoalriverUpcoming Festival Screeningshttps://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/upcoming-festival-screenings/
https://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/upcoming-festival-screenings/#respondMon, 20 Sep 2010 00:10:46 +0000http://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/?p=213We’re gearing up to screen ON COAL RIVER at a slew of fall film festivals: Maryland, Maine, the Hamptons, NYC, New Orleans, San Francisco, Birmingham, Alabama, plus Asheville. Come see us if you can, and let your friends know too — the more people come out, the more screenings we’ll be able to have!

“We will not stand idly by as we see mountaintop removal blast our mountain heritage to rubble, eliminate our communities and mountains, and poison our neighbors, as coal executives and their shareholders grow rich. Appalachians are not, and never will be, collateral damage for our nation’s energy consumption!” Vision Statement, Appalachia Rising. This cry is echoing from every corner of Appalachia – will you respond?

Appalachia Rising is September 25-27 in Washington DC. It is a movement gathering and day of action calling for the abolition of mountaintop removal and strip mining in Appalachia. Mountaintop removal has destroyed over 500 of the world’s oldest mountains and contaminated our nation’s water resources. Stand with us on Monday, September 27, 2010 in our nation’s capital for an end to mountaintop removal and a renewed vision of Appalachia.

By joining the organizing team, you will be working with the likes of these four Appalachian heroes.

Mickey and Nina McCoy, Kentucky
Mickey and Nina McCoy live in Inez, Kentucky, in the heart of eastern Kentucky’s coal-ravaged mountains. “Our streams were killed and people’s homes flooded by over 300 million gallons of toxic coal sludge from a breach in Massey Energy’s Martin County sludge dam on October 11, 2000. We are yet to see the full extent of the devastation. Cancer rates are rising in the toxic flood’s wake – now is the time for action, before it is too late,” said Mickey McCoy.

Jane Branham, Appalachia Virginia
In Wise County, Virginia, retired underground miners and residents are uniting to defend Ison Rock Ridge from obliteration at the hands of A & G Coal. Their state Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy approved the company’s application for 1,230 acre mountaintop removal site. “This is another permit being railroaded by state regulatory agencies,” said Jane Branham, Vice-President of Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards. “We have significant concerns about the impact of this permit on our waterways, our community and quality of life for those of us who live in the shadow of this permit.”

Judy Bonds, Coal River Valley, West Virginia
The mountains that rise above the Coal River Valley and the communities in the valleys below are disappearing as blasts resound through the narrow river valley and rubble is pushed onto the headwaters of the Ohio River. Judy Bonds was the last woman out of her mountain-holler home when Massey Energy moved in to build a 9 billion gallon coal slurry dam on Coal River Mountain: Brushy Fork. She said, ”Stop Bombing Appalachia. We demand an end to the blasting of our ancestral mountains and homes and an end to the poisoning of our streams. On September 27th, we will stand with all Americans to demand clean water for all our children and grandchildren.”

Appalachia Rising is 100% funded by grassroots donations. Please make it possible, make a donation by clicking here.

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https://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/205/#respondTue, 20 Jul 2010 17:48:57 +0000http://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/205/Joe Manchin, featured in ON COAL RIVER, running for Robert Byrd’s WV Senate seat. bit.ly/ayCz8Y
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https://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/204/#respondFri, 16 Jul 2010 15:02:47 +0000http://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/204/NPR’s Howard Berkes finds more Massey Miners to back up story: Disabling methane Monitors Was Common at UBB http://ping.fm/Yobkn
]]>https://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/204/feed/0oncoalriverSILVERDOCS, Reviews, and Morehttps://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/silverdocs-reviews-and-more/
https://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/silverdocs-reviews-and-more/#commentsMon, 12 Jul 2010 20:47:25 +0000http://oncoalriver.wordpress.com/?p=193It’s been an amazing few weeks and there is much to tell after the Capitol Hill Screening and SILVERDOCS World Premiere of ON COAL RIVER.

Our trip to Washington DC began with a Special Preview Screening on Capitol Hill. We partnered with Representatives Patrick Kennedy (RI) and Heath Shuler (NC) and Applachian Voices to bring the film to the new Capitol Hill Visitors Center Theater, located underneath the actual US Capitol.

ON COAL RIVER screened to an audience of influential policymakers, including personnel from the EPA, the Office of Surface Mining, numerous Congressional aides and staffers, and representatives from some of the most prominent environmental NGOs in DC. After the film, Austin Hall from Appalachian Voices emceed an extremely moving panel discussion that featured key people from the film — including Ed Wiley, Debbie Jarrell, Bo Webb, and Goldman prize winner Judy Bonds.

The next night, ON COAL RIVER had its official World Premiere to a sold-out house in the AFI Silver Theater at the Silverdocs Film Festival. Reverend Billy and the “Mountaintop Choir” from NYC opened the show. As the credits rolled, Judy, Bo, Ed, and Deb came out to a standing ovation. Saturday night we screened to a second sold-out house, Judy, Bo, Ed, and Deb received another standing ovation, and we had a panel discussion moderated by Charles Lewis — a longtime 60 Minutes producer and founder of the Center for Public Integrity.

The tireless Celia Alario and her team of volunteers from Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Student Coalition, Energy Action Coalition and Greenpeace who kept everything running smoothly, and made sure that the enthusiasm of the audiences translated into petition signatures and email addresses.

Premiering at SILVERDOCS was a great milestone for us, and it was also an important step towards what comes next. This fall we’ll be screening at Camden International Film Festival and some other great festivals soon to be announced. (So far we’ve invitations from Germany, China, New Zealand, Switzerland, and across the US — obviously there is a lot of interest in these stories!) We’re determined to get the film screened in theaters, on campuses, and on television as widely as possible.

To support Berlinger’s legal defense fund and shine additional light on the issues at stake, this special CRUDE screening will feature a panel discussion with CRUDE filmmaker Joe Berlinger, Berlinger’s lead attorney Maura Wogan of Frankfurt Kurnit, documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, and WGA, East President Michael Winship, among others. The panel will discuss Berlinger’s case and how it affects the roles and rights of documentarians and other independent journalists in today’s global community.

As many of you may have seen in the press, Chevron recently served a subpoena on the makers of the feature documentary CRUDE in order to obtain nearly 600 hours of raw footage accumulated during the making of the film. In May, a US District Court ruled for Chevron and ordered CRUDE’s director, Joe Berlinger, to produce the footage. In an effort to protect the footage, his sources, and his process, Berlinger immediately appealed. On June 8th Berlinger’s legal team won a stay of the District Court’s order. As a result, the district court’s May 20th order directing Berlinger to produce the footage will be suspended during the pendency of the appeal. A full hearing before the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will take place in July.

Over the last several weeks, this case has made headlines across the country, and Berlinger has received an incredible outpouring of support from the film and journalism communities. Patrick Creadon and the IDA got the ball rolling, and open letters from the DGA WGA, as well as a friend-of-the-court brief from leading First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams on behalf of 13 major media companies followed. As eloquently articulated by many esteemed members of the press and independent film legends—from the editors of The Los Angeles Times to Michael Moore, Bill Moyers, Robert Redford and Norman Lear—a ruling in favor of Chevron would be a grave violation of Berlinger’s First Amendment rights and will undoubtedly have a chilling effect on documentary filmmakers and journalists worldwide.

CRUDE debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2009 to overwhelmingly positive reviews, held its theatrical premiere at IFC Center in September 2009, and is currently available on DVD from First Run Features and Netflix. It has received numerous accolades including being named on of the Top Five Documentaries of the Year by the National Board of Review and Best International Green Film at Berlin’s prestigious Cinema For Peace. We hope you will join us for what will surely be a thought-provoking evening exploring the future of the foundation of documentary filmmaking.